Inside Malachi Goodman’s Development as Penn State’s Starting Left Tackle

Expectations were sky-high when Malachi Goodman arrived in Happy Valley as a consensus four-star product (five-star by 247Sports) and the top-ranked recruit in Penn State’s 2025 class.

Standing at an imposing 6-foot-5 and 330 pounds, the freshman out of Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey possessed the prototypical physical traits evaluators covet on the exterior of the line. Head coach Matt Campbell didn’t shy away from those lofty projections, stating back in August that Goodman has “elite traits in every way, shape and form.”

Yet the road from highly touted recruit to anchoring a Big Ten blind side requires navigating steep developmental hurdles. After taking a redshirt season in 2025 when he didn’t play a single snap, Goodman was thrust directly into a starting role this fall.

“I mean, I’m definitely grateful to be in this position at all,” Goodman said. “You know, just starting left tackle. But like development-wise, technique-wise… I want to be better. I’m gonna grind to be better. I’m gonna work to be better every day. So the goal for me is just domination. I step on the field, I’m dominating every play. That’s where my head is. I’m just trying to get better every day.”

Through the first six games of the season, a rebuilding Nittany Lion squad has labored to a 3-3 overall record, stumbling through a three-game skid as conference play began. Goodman has faced a steep learning curve adapting to the speed and power of elite college edge rushers.

Reflecting on how he managed the jump after a full year away from live action, Goodman noted that the heavy workload in the spring helped accelerate the transition.

“I think I’ve handled that fairly well,” Goodman said. “I mean, just getting all the reps in camp and in the spring and spring ball. … It was definitely an adjustment at the time, but I felt like I picked it up very quickly.”

That transition meant stepping into a room filled with high expectations across the board. Goodman said the team has done a good job of preventing outside criticism from seeping in throughout the losing streak.

But life in the trenches hasn’t been without external noise. Earlier in the year, film analysts pointed out a potential “tell” on tape from early season matchups against Buffalo and Temple relating to the placement of his hand presnap.

Goodman took the viral moment in stride, noting that while the observations weren’t entirely accurate, they provided a useful learning moment.

“I kind of laughed at it because it was like it showed one play and then it was another play, and also it was like Buffalo and then Temple,” Goodman said. “But it was early on in the season, so it was just like I look back, and even the coaches look back. But I wouldn’t say it was accurate, but it was close enough. But we looked over it. I fixed it, and I mean, it won’t be happening anymore.”

As Penn State attempts to right the ship midseason, building continuity along the line remains a primary objective. Goodman noted that his partnership alongside left guard Trevor Buhr is steadily developing as they log valuable snaps together.

“I’m comfortable playing next to him,” Goodman said. “We still got to build a relationship where we just know what each other are doing, I know what he’s doing, he knows what I’m doing. But I feel like it’s definitely been growing.”

With external pressure mounting outside the Lasch Building, the mindset inside the locker room remains fixed on execution rather than record. For Goodman, the team standard is about cleaning up details and pressing forward.

“We’re playing to our standards, so it doesn’t matter what the record is, we’re on to the next,” Goodman said. “You know, I’d just say we keep playing physical, keep trying to dominate every snap, so just trying to get better every day.”